The Historic Storefront
Ground-floor commercial and residential floors above, inside a historic masonry building.
Four floors of nineteenth-century masonry in the historic district: arched windows, an ornate cornice, and a white storefront at street level. Inside, original heart-pine floors were refinished and the old plank ceiling left exposed; upstairs, tall original window casings and panelled aprons were kept and worked around. Work in a building like this is decided as much by what stays as by what is added.
Historic Restoration in Downtown Charleston, SC
VIP Construction is a Charleston general contractor with experience in the city’s older buildings, where every project starts with what is already there. Masonry facades, original floors, tall windows and ornate cornices are the reason these buildings matter, and work inside them is decided as much by what stays as by what is added. If you are looking for a historic restoration contractor in downtown Charleston, this is the kind of work we take on.
Historic buildings often combine uses: a shop or restaurant at street level and offices or apartments above. That mix means different codes, different schedules and different expectations on every floor, and it calls for a contractor who can coordinate all of it at once.
Keeping What Makes the Building Worth Saving
Original heart-pine floors can usually be refinished rather than replaced. Plank ceilings, exposed brick, arched window openings and original casings and aprons are kept and worked around, not covered up. Where something has to be repaired, we match materials and profiles so the new work disappears into the old.
Behind those surfaces, an old building still has to perform like a modern one. Structure, systems and finishes are updated carefully, so the building can be used every day without losing the details that give it value.
Working in Charleston’s Historic Districts
Exterior changes in Charleston’s historic districts are commonly reviewed by the city’s Board of Architectural Review, and downtown sites come with narrow streets, neighbors on every side and little room for materials. We plan schedules, deliveries and staging around those conditions, and we keep the site orderly for the people who live and work around it.
Serving Downtown Charleston and the Peninsula
VIP Construction has been building in the Lowcountry since 2004, for owners, builders and developers, with a clean record with every municipality we have worked in. We work on historic and commercial buildings across downtown Charleston, the peninsula, Mount Pleasant and the surrounding area.
Planning work on a historic building? Call or text VIP Construction at (843) 999-7380, or tell us about the project.